Westward extension, 1841-1850, by George Pierce Garrison.

17671

BOUNDARY OF TEXAS

99

Bahia was afterwards moved farther inland, and
near it grew a settlement to which, after Mexico became independent, was given the name Goliad. At
the time when the Anglo-American colonization of
Texas began there were, therefore, but three Spanish settlements of any importance in the province
-Nacogdoches, in the original Texas district, and
Bexar (San Antonio) and Goliad, in the region first
occupied by the French.
The name Texas had meanwhile been extended
to the whole area north of the lower Rio Grande
River occupied by the Spaniards, which was organized as one of the provinces of New Spain, or Mexico. A map executed by the engineer La Fora,
who accompanied the Marqu6s de Rubl, an official
visitador of the Spanish government to Texas in
i767, represents the province at that time as a
long, narrow, L-shaped strip drawn so as to include
the Spanish settlements. The long arm of the L is
parallel with the Gulf coast, being separated from
it by the country of the Karankawa Indians, and
includes the eastern group of settlements at one
end and those of Bexar at the other. The short
arm runs from B6xar southeastwardly to the coast,
so as to include the mission and presidio of La
Bahia.1
1 The original of this map, once in the Mexican archives, has
long since disappeared. A photographic copy furnished me by
Dr. H. E. Bolton, of the University of Texas, came to him from
Miss Zelia Nuttall.: *: '. e.:
9;.~.o..::